Wailing Ship
Whenever I read the expression "he whaled on him" to denote a beating or thrashing of some kind, I immediately feel the urge to administer such a disciplinary action myself — on the writer. There is nothing wrong with the expression, but this spelling (I saw the variant "waling" in a book last night) is clearly WRONG. The Dictionary, that most unreliable and fanciful reference, which furthers the error, at least admits "origin unknown" or "uncertain." I'll say! The Dictionary may claim an 18th Century appearance for this term, but anyone who grew up listening to rock guitar KNOWS the correct spelling is "wailing" from the power and aggressiveness of that instrument's violent onslaught! Nothing to do with whales (or Wales)!
posted by Andrew Nahem @ 9:17 AM
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